September 30, 2010

I received an e-mail the other day letting me know my blog had been picked as one of the top 20 art blogs out there. At first I thought it was a bit strange because I had never heard of the website/person that had selected the 20 blogs. I still am unsure of what the criteria was of the selection process, but hey....free press is free press! Thank you Maria Megher..whoever & where ever you are!!! I appreciate you recommending my blog. I am thankful that some one out there likes my little piece of cyberspace!! :) ha ha

September 29, 2010

To finish the Ikebanas, I had my student use two colors of acrylic paint to add spots to the "bottle" part & outline the "flower" part. They picked from 3 metalics for one color, and the second was up to them from the availible paints I had out. They really enjoyed finishing this piece & are extremely proud of their work.

September 28, 2010

I've always wanted to write a book. I have several ideas that are extremely different. What kind of book would you buy?? What would you invest your money/time/self into?﻿ There isn't much out there that I've been super excited about in the art ed field. I'm interested to hear what you all have to say!!

September 26, 2010

I haven't posted many pictures of my baby girl...because I want to keep this blog art focused. However, when teaching is rough, days are long, students don't seem to get it....this is my pick-me-up! ﻿I come home to one of the most amazing little girls in the whole wide world! She is smart, funny, and oh so sweet!!! The past 18 months of my life have been more joy filled than I could have ever imagined!!! She is a true masterpiece..and I am so thankful to God for blessing me with her!

September 22, 2010

Tisha Burke from Nokesville, VA was the winner of my bulletin board contest at the start of the year! As you know...school gets busy fast...so here is what I made her...FINALLY!?!?! Sorry Tisha for taking so long! It will be in the mail by the end of the week.

September 21, 2010

I used Diffusion Circles from School Speciality Catalog for this lesson. You can also use coffee filters, but I do like the diffusion circles better. Standard water based markers...making sure you have a mat paper under the circle or your tables will be very colorful!! The students then scrunched up their mat paper into a ball and put the circle over it. They used a pipe cleaner to secure it in place(first time I used pipe cleaners for this project...was sooo much easier than string!!!) Use liquid starch in a spray bottle to sprits the form. This will allow the colors to bleed together & create a stiffer finished form(the diffusion circles have a bit of a stiffer form naturally than the coffee filters).

September 20, 2010

Ikebanas are the perfect Chihuly project for my 2nd graders! With our flowers & vase projects over the past few weeks....this is a natural next step.

This is what my students created today...and we'll add a bit more next week(probably using acrylic paint). They cut a water bottle in half to begin with. Then they glued the tissue paper on(much like the 3rd & 4th grade project). They then used pipe cleaners & construction paper to create the plant form.

They are very bright...very fun!

If you are not familiar with the Ikebanas...here are to images from the St. Louis show.

I'm a bit bummed. I was nominated by the state to represent TN for the Praxis test/score setting. I had filled out an application after being nominated, but had high hopes of being selected. Well, I just found out today that I was not selected. Praxis only picked two teachers from TN to go. I'm totally pouting right now...I KNOW...drama drama drama...and I am a big baby!!! :) ha ha I just thought it would be sooooooo much fun to hang out with teachers from around the country and talk about what makes a good art teacher & what knowledge is most important for art teachers. I'll get over it...but it is NOT an honor just to be nominated....

September 17, 2010

So the tower is ALMOST done! Hopefully after today, it will be complete. I was amazed how many bottles it actually takes?!?!!? I had 6 classes(around 20 in each class) create the bottles for the tower. This week I've been having my 3rd & 4th graders create the flower shapes to fill in the gaps. They really add a nice texture to the piece. So this is a happy accident I'm glad happened!﻿

September 16, 2010

So I've had many ideas on how to create the armature for the Chihuly tower! If you have some ideas you'd like to share...please leave a comment. I bought chicken wire at the local TSC(after seeing another teacher use chicken wire)...but had to figure out how I was going to make it stand & take shape. I ended up cutting out circles of cardboard so that it would hold its shape. I then wired yard sticks to the end so I could anchor it in the ground. This has worked out very well. Like I said...there are many ways you can do this, and I'd love to hear what you've done or are considering doing.

September 15, 2010

You asked for it! Here is the step by step for creating the Chihuly bottle that are part of the "Chandelier"

and the "Tower". I hope this helps!! And this is just how I did it..I'm sure

there is a million other good ways of doing this!﻿

First tie a string around an empty bottle(this is good for hanging on to it..and for hanging it to dry later!). Have the students remove the label. Then give each student a large piece of plastic wrap. They need to ball it up and tape it onto the bottom of their bottle. This gives a little extra length &shape to the twist at the end.

Have the students hold the bottle by the cap & scribble scrabble glue over the whole exterior(including the plastic wrap). They will then wrap it in the tissue paper...allowing for a long "tail" to twist.

After the tail is twisted, student will paint a glaze mixture onto the piece. I used a mixture of Tempera Glaze, Pearl It & Glitter It(by Crayola). Then tie it by the string and allow it to dry!

September 10, 2010

Alright my faithful art blogger followers...you asked for it! You wanted to see the Chihuly project in process. It is truly a work in progress as my ideas have changed/evolved as we have been creating. And when I say "we", I whole heartedly mean that! The kids have been so excited & involved with this project. I have been piecing it together in the morning while I do hall duty & the students gather around me asking questions(and sharing their 2 cents!). Today I showed my principal & office staff what we had so far, and they all agreed I need to have a faculty art night and do the same project.

September 09, 2010

Every year I go through my scrap paper box and pull out little scrappy stuff & put in some new good paper(well..I actually do this several times a year because I'm a bit OCD). This week my second graders have been creating a collage that is requiring a good amount of paper. HOWEVER....my box seems to be now over flowing?!?! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!?!? ha ha Do scrap boxes reproduce????

September 08, 2010

As you may have seen on my blog...our district is having a Chihuly "push" this fall because we are blessed to have not one...but TWO amazing Chihuly installations in the Metro Nashville area.

I have the blog I created for the elementary art teachers of Nashville to the left as a resource. Take some time and look through...you may find some things you'd like to try with your students.

Last week I started with a Chihuly inspired painting with my 4th graders(go a couple posts back) This week I'm jumping into the instillation pieces. Each student in 3rd & 4th grade will be creating part of the instillation. I'm going to create 2 chandeliers & 1 tower from what my students are making( I think?). This is the first time I've done a unit like this...so this is a work in progress....stay tuned! When we're done they'll be displayed at the entrance of the school in our atrium. I've been amazed at how much the students are enjoying the project...as well as learning about Dale Chihuly and seeing pictures and videos of his work. I'm going to be sharing the process with them as I'm creating the chandeliers & tower. I want to hear what they think & see if they have any suggestions. We had discussed how Chihuly doesn't actually create the individual pieces any more...but directs the artists that are creating the pieces.
They thought that was really interesting.

Here they are drying in a empty room beside mine(that really came in handy!!).